Transplantable sod is typically grown in heavy soil, then harvested with a machine that cuts a mat approximately 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) thick, 45 centimeters (18 inches) wide and 1.2 meters (48 inches) long. These mats are then stacked on pallets up to a weight of about 1 metric ton (2200 lbs.), then shipped for transplantation over a conditioned top soil where one pallet load will cover approximately 42 square meters (50 square yards).
The successful transplantation of such sod ribbons requires heavy watering and large quantities of fertilizer and other soil amendments.
There have been several attempts in the past to produce less cumbersome sod mats of larger size for easier installation, as exemplified by the disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,526 Miyachi. However, in the growing and transportation of sod mats of the prior art, the weight reduction has been traded for a more complex and more labor and time-consuming process.